>> this is "bbc world news america," reporting from washington. >> i would like to say that this is the most humbling day of my life. >> rupert murdoch and his son james are in the hot seat as british lawmakers grilled them up over what they knew about the phone hacking scandal. scheduled for execution, mark stroman is set to die by lethal injection. hoping to make a splash in the london olympics, with just a year left to go, we follow one british swimmer working hard to make the cut.

welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and also around the globe. shocked, appalled, a shame, the words that british -- that rupert murdoch used before british lawmakers. he was addressing the scandal which has sent shock waves through the metropolitan police. appearing beside his son, the senior murdoch apologized for the hurt that has been caused but maintained he was not responsible. the proceedings were interrupted by a demonstrator using a plateful of foam. >> the policemen are there to protect rupert in james murdoch, not taken in for questioning. that job fell to a committee of and peace. that tycoon's wife was behind him offering physical and

emotional support. his son and once heir apparent said anxiously at his side -- sat anxiously at his side. >> i would like to see how sorry we are. >> rupert murdoch was determined to deliver a one line. >> i would just like to say one sentence, this is the most humbling day of my life. thank you. >> they were sorry, they were humbled. whose fault was the criminality in their company? >> do you except that you are responsible for this fiasco. >> no. >> who was responsible? >> the people that i trusted and maybe the people they trusted. >> who that was, he would not say. >> this is not an excuse, may be an explanation. the news of the world was less than 1% of the company.

>> at this point, his wife told him to stop banging the table. the sound heard more often was silence. >> were you -- about your son or rebekah brooks? >> that took 10 seconds to answer. he hesitated on every question of detail. >> i forget but i expect that i have been in daily contact with both of them. >> news international was run day today by james murdoch. today, he blamed the police, complaints commission, and a failed inquiry for the failure to reveal what had gone wrong. >> if i knew then what i know now and with the benefit of hindsight, we would have taken more action are around that and we would have been quicker to

get to the bottom of the allegations. >> out different -- how different today was then the days when he was feted by prime ministers. david cameron was never photographed with mr. murdoch even though he was invited discretely just days after the last election. >> why did you go in the back? >> to avoid photographers. i did as i was told. >> he was looking relaxed, then may ham. the drama turned into a circus. >> he was there in that room. what can you tell us? >> i was sitting a few feet away and only just half a second before he was hit in the face with the plate what i assume a shaving foam. >> this was delivered by a member of the public who was

rewarded with a right hook from wife wendy. it is this sort of story that rebekah brooks would have loved. now the ex chief executive of followed the murdoch's into the committee room and matched their contrition. >> how could you be so unaware of such fundamental issues? >> in some ways, i think the opposite. i don't know anyone in their right mind who would authorize or sanction approval of anyone listening to the voice mail of milly dowler. i don't know anyone who would think that was a right and proper thing to do. >> someone did it and someone approved it and someone covered it up. when rupert murdoch swept out of westminster, we were no closer to knowing who.

we do know that this is a day he did not enjoy. >> as you have heard, the revelations about milly dowler's phone are what brought the scandal to a whole new level. many of the details were first revealed in "the guardian," newspaper. tonight, i spoke with the deputy editor and asked him if he believed that the murdoch's did not know about the phone hacking. >> this is very difficult to say. rupert murdoch's performance was really quite extraordinary. he seemed to be trying to convince the world that he was a doddering old chap that had no idea what was going on. a lot of the time i felt convinced of that. one of the most striking things about the parents was this is probably the end of the rupert murdoch era. this will convince most shareholders that he is not the person to be running this company.

>> what about james murdoch? do you think that he knew? >> he did a very controlled and technocratic performance using words extremely carefully. he was terribly well coached. he said nothing that you could point to and say that he really knows what is going on. he is in a lot of difficulty particularly around the signing of the check for a million pounds. he maintains that he had no idea that part of the evidence in this case was that there were more journalists involved in the hacking. at the moment, it is his word against those of the other people involved. >> this is really a day of parliamentary peter. did you find out anything that you did not know before? >> we found out that rupert murdoch's wife has a right hook.

i don't think it was a great day for forensic discoveries. some of the interesting things that were found were not in the murdoch testimony but another room with the senior policemen involved testifying. there was some subtle but quite significant things. perhaps the most striking thing was that david cameron said chief of staff had declined a briefing from detectives about the hackie insolvent during 2010. when this moves to politics in westminster, david cameron will have some quite difficult questions to answer. >> you personally advised one of david cameron's senior aides. how damage is david cameron by this? >> well, i think that we have

not seen any killer blows. what i think is happening is that we are seeing a steady accretion of damaging issues. there was the ones that were gave to downing street about andy coulson's relationship with a detective who is facing charges for axe murderer. consequently, he was -- consequently, the trial collapsed. the general picture here is that david cameron was putting his fingers in his ears and saying i don't want to know what anyone has to tell me about andy coulson. if it happens that he is charged and goes to court and if he's convicted, each time there is another move and the story, david cameron will have a harder and harder question to answer. >> the fallout from the scandal

is being felt around the world. people tune in to day to watch the murdoch's testimony. joining me to discuss the impact is the media reporter for the "new york times." the did the murdoch's do well enough to stay in charge of their own companies? >> i spoke to some wall street analysts to said yes, this was says good as that -- as it could have gone. every statement made with them and comparing them to their record and to whatever sources they are saying. for one day, it was a pretty good day for the murdoch's. >> could james murdoch be the heir apparent? >> 1 said that if james murdoch had done particularly badly, it would have hurt his possibility of taking over as ceo.

he seems to be taking charge during this session and it did not heard him. -- did not hurt him. any day they are not hurt is a good day. >> do you see long-term reputation damaged to the company, regardless of what happens with these institutions? >> i have been tried to ponder how you measure that damage. people will still flock to see 20 century fox movies and to buy the wall street journal's. in the short-term, clearly there is a stain on the u.k. newspaper operations. there was an attempt to contain the damage. >> there is an fbi investigations into the phone hacking and a traditional

inquiry and a police investigation on the other side of the atlantic. these will be very problematic. >> if they do will arrive, they would be. it is hard to believe we would get to that point. there is no evidence that any victims of 9/11 had their phone hacked. other government regulators will get involved. for now, this is a great opportunities for the critics to take their shot. >> do think that they are sleeping well tonight? >> from what i've heard their sleeping in a bit better than they did the night before. this is changed every hour of every day. measuring the performance of one day is the wrong way to go. these have been devastating

weeks for the news corporation. >> thank you very much for joining us. in that the news, president obama has said that negotiations over increasing the amount that the u.s. can borrow has reached the 11th hour. there is a new proposal that would cut 4 trillion dollars from the deficit over 10 years through a mix of tax increases and spending cuts. if it is not raised by august the second, the u.s. runs the risk of defaulting. reports from serious say that 10 people have been killed in homs. foreign journalists are unable to report freely so we are unable to confirm. it is reported that the militias opened fire on the people who were going to a funeral.

israel the marines aboard a boat that was looking to break the blockade on the gaza strip. tomorrow night, mark stroman is scheduled to be put to death in texas. he is paying for crimes committed in the wake of 9/11. in his words, he was targeting anyone he considered an arab, calling it revenge for an attack on the u.s. one of his victims is actually fighting to save his life. >> death row in texas. murderers, rapists, pedophiles, are waiting here for their execution. this week, it is mark stroman, he killed two people and wounded another in the weeks following september 11th, 2011 -- 2001.

>> i was an angry american. everyone was saying, let's get them. we were just saying to get them so we were stereotyped. i stereotype all muslims as terrorists. that was wrong. >> at the time, he claimed he was being patriotic. the attacks were all very similar. they targeted asian immigrants who work in convenience stores or petrol stations. it was wanted to give their killing that led to him being arrested. he said that it was in retaliation for what happened on 9/11. >> he came to the store and open fire with a double barrel shotgun in the face. it blinded me in one eye and i'm caring pellets in my face. >> rais bhuyian was badly hurt

but now he is campaigning to save the life of mark stroman. was what he did is a hate crime. these come from ignorance. we see a lot of killing and hate crime based on race, color, sexual orientation. his execution will not eradicate hate crimes from this world but was simply remove a human life. >> mark stroman thinks a reprieve is unlikely and is prepared for his death. >> this is like putting a dog in a van and going to the pound. i should be in huntsville by 2:00 and if all goes well, i will be dead by 6:30. >> 10 years after 9/11, there is an uneasy relationship between muslims and non muslims in the u.s. but 1/3 of all mosques have been built in that time. rais bhuyian is hoping that stopping the institution will be

a small step to bring communities together. >> he can talk to the people who are as ignorant as him. there will be a better chance for a better society. execution is not a solution. >> without a last-minute reprieve, mark stroman will be executed by lethal injection. >> you are watching "bbc world news america," still to come on the program -- hoping to swim for olympic glory, one british teenager is balancing a heavy load to compete at the highest level. in japan, it has been four months since the devastating earthquake and tsunami struck and of the country has that exports of cattle from the area around the fukushima nuclear plant due to fears of radiation. >> japanese beef is prized for its quality and now there is concern about contamination. animals from some farms have

been fed straw containing radioactive cesium. now the government has banned shipments from fukushima prefecture. >> i have given orders to stop the shipment of all cattle to the treatment center. >> the meet has already been sent to shops nationwide and might have already been eaten. >> i am worried because i have children. i think that there is a continuing problem with beef. >> we have been told that it is ok as long as we don't continue to eat meat. >> this is the latest scare of contamination. already it has been found in green tea. even the tap water in tokyo. radiation cannot be carried very far from the crippled nuclear

plant. once it gets into the food chain, it can travel all around the country. four months after the fukushima plant was shattered by explosions and a meltdown, it is still leaking radiation. the government announced some success in the operation to get the crisis under control. they have set up a system to claim tens of thousands of tons of contaminated water. the next step is to bring this to a shutdown which is likely to take the rest of the year and beyond. in somalia, a famine has been officially declared of parts of the country. an estimated 10 million people have been affected by severe drought. the conditions have deteriorated so badly that the u.n. is expected to announce tomorrow that famine has returned to east

africa for the first time in 19 years. at least half a million children are thought to be at risk of death. >> it has been getting worse. people are dragging themselves out of somalia in search of food. tens of thousands crowding into camps like this one. now, a famine will be declared in at least two regions in somalia. this is rarely used and it is conjuring images like this, ethiopia, 1984. this year's crisis is not yet on that scale. somalia has now crossed a grim threshold. in the crude science of hunger, famine officially comes when 1/3 of young children are malnourished and four out of every 10,000 die daily.

>> this is declared a famine because the response mechanisms are triggered as a result of the target a famine and they're completely different to those declaring it an emergency. the efforts is on a completely different scale to help the disaster victims on the ground. >> the horn of africa is prone to drought and crippled by property but there is conflict. i have to would be the rubble of mogadishu with two decades worth of violence. people are coming here in search of food. the militia controls most of the countryside. the announced they were lifting a ban on foreign aid organizations. the u.n. says that too many obstacles remain. salmon might -- famine might

bring a new surge in donations. >> in space today, there was yet another step in the end of an era. the shuttle atlantis' left the international space station for the very last time. this will bring an end to the shuttle program after a 30 year run. while the shuttle program is coming to an end, in london, the preparations are in full swing for the summer olympics that will get underway in just over a year. among those hoping to compete is a british swimmer who is balancing a full life of a teenager for a desire to compete at the highest level. >> this is a girl who can make a splash. she switched last year from representing kenya to start

swimming for great britain. her goal is to represent the team at the olympics. she often trains two times a day, once before school and once after. >> getting up at 5:00 in the morning is not get any easier. >> she started swimming at the age of four while she was living in kenya. she was born in the u.k. and in 2007 decided to return here. she boarded at plymouth college where she befriended a diving gold medalist. she has now moved in with her got parents to set up for the olympics. while most teenagers find it difficult to drag themselves out of bed, she has been here since the crack of dawn. she's incredibly committed to his swimming but she is also very focused on her school work. after a cup of coffee with her

friend, it is off to school where she is studying for a levels. double economics is followed by double politics in which she is contemplating a career beyond the swimming pool. she has her work perfect and france to catch up with before squeezing in a driving lesson, all before the end of school. what sometimes i get really fed up with it all. you just have to do with the situation you are given. >> she made an impressive start at the british championships and represent england at the commonwealth games. she took a five week break because of the exams and has missed out on the world championships in china. like any athlete, get into the olympics will take a huge dedication and self belief. >> as it has come closer and

closer, and as become more of a realization that is a possibility. now, i'm a little bit more unsure of where i can get to. "her coach says that she has a talent. she just needs to resolve and determination to divan and take her chest. >> reaching for olympic glory. that brings us to the end of the day's broadcast. you can always get the latest developments on our website. to see what we're working on, be sure to visit our facebook page. from all of us, thank you for watching. we will see you tomorrow.

>> make sense of international news at bbc.com/news. >> funding was made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. newman's own foundation. and union bank. >> union bank has put its global financial strength to work for a wide range of companies, from small businesses to major corporations. what can we do for you? >> "bbc world news america" was presented by kcet, los angeles.

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